Virgin Galactic, 37.8 percent-owned by the Abu Dhabi
government’s Aabar Investments wealth fund, wants
“collaborations in operations or future technology or even
education” with companies in the emirate, Chief Executive
Officer George Whitesides said in a phone interview.

Project costs to date amount to $200 million, while about
500 people have signed up for space flights at $200,000 a
ticket, giving the company potential revenue of $100 million,
Whitesides said in the interview from Virgin Galactic’s
headquarters in Las Cruces, New Mexico, adding that the majority
of buyers paid the full amount.

Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates and
holder of 7 percent of the world’s proven oil reserves, plans to
spend $500 billion on industry, tourism and culture through 2030
to reduce reliance on petroleum. Among the projects is a
business jet that state-owned Mubadala Aerospace, a maker of
aircraft parts, plans to build before the end of the decade.

The emirate is “going about it in a really smart way” to
develop an aerospace industry, by manufacturing composite
materials and working with partners such as Lockheed-Martin
Corp., Whitesides said.

Virgin Galactic may make “a number of announcements”
about joint projects during the Global Aerospace Summit in Abu
Dhabi in April, Whitesides said, declining to specify potential
partners. The conference will also provide a chance for
Whitesides to sign up more space-flight passengers from the
Persian Gulf, he said. Customers from the region currently
number almost 10, he said in the interview Feb. 24.

Aabar’s investment in Virgin Galactic stands at $380
million, Whitesides said. The rocket maker’s budget shows
there’s no need for further funding until commercial operations
begin in the second half of 2013, and the company isn’t looking
to sell additional stakes, Whitesides said.